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Dixie Hotel (Gainesville, Florida)
Encyclopedia
The John F. Seagle Building (also known as Hotel Kelley or the Dixie Hotel) is a historic building located at 408 West University Avenue in Gainesville, Florida
, in the United States
. Built in 1926, it was designed by noted University of Florida
architect and professor Rudolph Weaver
and built by G. Lloyd Preacher
& Co.
On August 16, 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
as the Dixie Hotel, Hotel Kelley.
. Conceived originally as the "Hotel Kelly," the project went bust before the last floor was poured. It sat unfinished for over a decade and was considered an eyesore
. In the mid-1930s a Jacksonville
entrepreneur, Georgia Seagle finally finished the building, with assistance from the University of Florida, the city of Gainesville, and federal
funding. Seagle gave the building to the University of Florida and asked that it be named after her deceased brother, John F. Seagle.
The building served mostly the University of Florida in the years following its completion. Having difficulty meeting modern fire codes
as time passed, the building lost most of its upper-floor tenants. By the late 1960s, the Florida State Museum
was the building's only occupant. When that museum
moved to the UF campus nearby, the building was completely abandoned.
Eventually sold to a development company
from Kentucky
for $1 with the understanding that the building was to be completely renovated, a newly-remodeled Seagle Building reopened in 1983 with modern wiring, plumbing
, telephone
and cable
jacks
, a fire sprinkler
system, an emergency
diesel generator
, an added internal concrete
stairway providing two fire escapes for every floor, and many other improvements. The first six floors have been designated commercial space, comprising roughly 40000 square feet (3,716.1 m²). The remaining five floors are residential units, with four units per floor with the exception of the top floor, which is a single unit.
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Built in 1926, it was designed by noted University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
architect and professor Rudolph Weaver
Rudolph Weaver
Rudolph Weaver was an American architect and university professor and administrator renowned for various buildings that he designed in Florida, Idaho and Washington, many of which are academic....
and built by G. Lloyd Preacher
G. Lloyd Preacher
George Lloyd Preacher was an architect prominent in Atlanta, Georgia and the southeastern United States in the design of commercial office, hotel, and apartment buildings.Notable buildings that he designed include:...
& Co.
On August 16, 1982, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as the Dixie Hotel, Hotel Kelley.
History
The Seagle Building had its origins in the 1920s economic boom, especially the Florida land boom of the 1920sFlorida land boom of the 1920s
The Florida land boom of the 1920s was Florida's first real estate bubble, which burst in 1925, leaving behind entire new cities and the remains of failed development projects such as Aladdin City in south Miami-Dade County and Isola di Lolando in north Biscayne Bay...
. Conceived originally as the "Hotel Kelly," the project went bust before the last floor was poured. It sat unfinished for over a decade and was considered an eyesore
Eyesore
An eyesore is an unpleasant view. Its technical usage is as an alternative perspective to the notion of landmark. Common examples include dilapidated buildings, graffiti, litter, polluted areas and excessive commercial signage such as billboards. Some eyesores may be a matter of opinion such as...
. In the mid-1930s a Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
entrepreneur, Georgia Seagle finally finished the building, with assistance from the University of Florida, the city of Gainesville, and federal
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
funding. Seagle gave the building to the University of Florida and asked that it be named after her deceased brother, John F. Seagle.
The building served mostly the University of Florida in the years following its completion. Having difficulty meeting modern fire codes
Fire safety
Fire safety refers to precautions that are taken to prevent or reduce the likelihood of a fire that may result in death, injury, or property damage, alert those in a structure to the presence of a fire in the event one occurs, better enable those threatened by a fire to survive, or to reduce the...
as time passed, the building lost most of its upper-floor tenants. By the late 1960s, the Florida State Museum
Florida Museum of Natural History
The Florida Museum of Natural History is the State of Florida's official state-sponsored and chartered natural history museum. Its main facilities are located on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida....
was the building's only occupant. When that museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
moved to the UF campus nearby, the building was completely abandoned.
Eventually sold to a development company
Real estate development
Real estate development, or Property Development, is a multifaceted business, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of improved land or parcels to others...
from Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
for $1 with the understanding that the building was to be completely renovated, a newly-remodeled Seagle Building reopened in 1983 with modern wiring, plumbing
Plumbing
Plumbing is the system of pipes and drains installed in a building for the distribution of potable drinking water and the removal of waterborne wastes, and the skilled trade of working with pipes, tubing and plumbing fixtures in such systems. A plumber is someone who installs or repairs piping...
, telephone
Telephone plug
A telephone plug is a type of male connector used to connect a telephone to the telephone wiring in a home or business, and in turn to a local telephone network. It is inserted into its female counterpart, a telephone "jack", commonly affixed to a wall or baseboard...
and cable
Cable
A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables are used to carry...
jacks
Jack (connector)
In electronics and electrical assemblies, the term jack commonly refers to a surface-mounted connector, often, but not always, with the female electrical contact or socket, and is the "more fixed" connector of a connector pair...
, a fire sprinkler
Fire sprinkler
A fire sprinkler system is an active fire protection measure, consisting of a water supply system, providing adequate pressure and flowrate to a water distribution piping system, onto which fire sprinklers are connected...
system, an emergency
Emergency power system
Emergency power systems are a type of system, which may include lighting, generators, fuel cells and other apparatus, to provide backup power resources in a crisis or when regular systems fail. They find uses in a wide variety of settings from residential homes to hospitals, scientific...
diesel generator
Diesel generator
A diesel generator is the combination of a diesel engine with an electrical generator to generate electrical energy....
, an added internal concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
stairway providing two fire escapes for every floor, and many other improvements. The first six floors have been designated commercial space, comprising roughly 40000 square feet (3,716.1 m²). The remaining five floors are residential units, with four units per floor with the exception of the top floor, which is a single unit.
External links
- Official website
- Alachua County listings at National Register of Historic Places
- Alachua County listings at Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
- Virtual tour of Downtown Gainesville and Related Structures at Alachua County's Department of Growth Management
- The Seagle Building has storied history at The Gainesville Sun
- Dixie Motel at Alachua County Library District Heritage Collection